Winter/Spring 2012 • Vol. 28, Issue 2 - Eagle Online - Niagara ...

EAGLEN I A G A R A U N I V E R S I T YWinter/Spring 2012 • Vol. 28, Issue 2A Degree With a Difference pg 8Three Alums Set Standards for NYS Judges pg 12Crossing Boundaries pg 18

“However great the work that God may achieveby an individual, he must not indulge in selfsatisfaction.He ought rather to be all the morehumbled, seeing himself merely as a tool whichGod has made use of.” — St. Vincent de Paul

N I A G A R A U N I V E R S I T YEAGLEWinter/Spring 2012 • Vol. 28, Issue 2Inside this issueFEATURES12 Three Alums Set Standardsfor NYS Judges18 Crossing BoundariesDEPARTMENTS2 Opening Remarks4 On the Ridge9 1,000 Words10 Student Profile13 Niagara Bookshelf14 Living the Mission16 Advancement Matters20 News from the Nest22 Alumni Stories26 Catching Up32 The Last WordOn the cover A detail of Meade Hall. In February, WilliamGacioch, ’61, and his family donated $2 million to renovate thebuilding, which will be renamed the Gacioch Family Alumni andAdmissions Center. See story on page 17.View the Eagle online at http://eagleonline.niagara.edu/The Niagara University Eagle is published three times per year bythe Office of Public Relations, Communications and Marketing.Please send correspondence to:Lisa M. McMahon, MA’09, EditorOffice of Public Relations, Communications and MarketingNiagara University, N.Y., 14109716.286.8747 • lmcmahon@niagara.eduDesignSuzanne M. KaraszewskiContributors/PhotographyTom BurnsJim McCoyMichael Freedman Derek Zeller, ’12Founded by the Vincentian Community in 1856, Niagara Universityis a private liberal arts university with a strong, values-based Catholictradition. Its four academic divisions include the colleges of Artsand Sciences, Business Administration, Education, and Hospitalityand Tourism Management. The university also maintains anAcademic Exploration Program that provides a learning communityfor students who are undecided about their major.

OPENING REmARkSNiagara University was recently namedto the President’s Higher EducationCommunity Service Honor Roll forthe sixth consecutive year. The honor roll is thehighest federal recognition a school can achievefor its commitment to volunteering, servicelearning and civic engagement.U.S. News & World Report ranks Niagara amongthe top 24 institutions in the nation in terms ofoffering students a wide range of service-learningopportunities. In that study, NU was selected asone of only two schools in New York state(Wagner College in Staten Island was the other)to be distinguished for outstanding programsaimed at enriching the students’ experience.That being said, we do not plan to rest on our laurels.In fact, less than two weeks after the latest resultswere released by U.S. News & World Report, weannounced the opening of Niagara University’snew Institute for Civic Engagement. An initiativedeveloped through my office, the instituteformalizes Niagara’s commitment to the region.Under the direction of Dr. David Taylor, it willstrengthen NU’s existing community partnershipsand form new town-gown relationships,while serving as the university’s primary point ofcontact for community members and organizations.(You can read more about Dr. Taylor andthe institute on page 15.)As Niagara alumni and friends, you know thatour commitment to serving others, especiallythose most in need, comes from our mission as aCatholic and Vincentian university. Through theteachings of St. Vincent de Paul, we consider itour responsibility to teach students about thechallenges and causes of poverty, and we supportactivities where our students reach out withcompassion to serve people’s basic needs.It is this vision that drives our faculty, staff andadministration to incorporate service intoeverything that we do as a university. Once itis determined that students have a firm graspon subject matter, they are encouraged —required, in many cases — to carry this newknowledge with them into their communities,thereby enhancing the living environments oftheir neighbors.Examples of this unique approach to learning canbe seen across campus (and detailed in thismagazine). NU’s relationship with the HeartCenter of Niagara at Niagara Falls MemorialMedical Center, for instance, has helped studentand faculty researchers to more effectivelydiagnose and treat coronary heart disease, theprimary cause of mortality in Niagara County.Construction of the B. Thomas Golisano Centerfor Integrated Sciences will only amplify thesepartnerships, making Niagara a key player indiscovering new knowledge related to society’smost pressing challenges.Of course, the life sciences comprise just one ofthe many areas where our students are making adifference. The strong liberal arts foundationoffered at Niagara allows the young men andwomen entrusted to our care to lead lives ofresponsibility and integrity regardless of their major.In 2011 alone, NU students contributed more than50,000 hours of service in more than 40 socialservice agencies and organizations across the globe.The important, lasting piece from these servicelearningopportunities is the students’ reflection onwhat they have accomplished, and how it relates toclassroom topics and broader world issues, as wellas their own faith. It is critical that our studentsunderstand why they are performing this service,how it impacts those they are serving and the extentto which their efforts are part of a greater cause tomake this world a better place to live – for everyone.And all of this is part of Niagara’s desire to alwayslive out its mission, and to be faithful to its Catholicand Vincentian traditions.I am always interested in hearing your ideas onhow Niagara University can expand its servicelearningopportunities. Should you have anythoughts on this topic, or anything else, pleasefeel free to contact me at jll@niagara.edu.Rev. Joseph L. Levesque, C.M.President3

ON THE RIDGE4Al Oddo, longtime professor of accounting atNiagara, retired in June. In November, he wasunanimously approved as a professor emeritus ofaccounting by the university’s Board of Trustees.“As one of the few people who have known Al sincehe embarked upon his remarkable career at NU, itbrings me great pleasure to see him recognized withthis well-deserved honor,” said the Rev. Joseph L.Levesque, C.M., NU’s president. “Not only hashe been an excellent educator for nearly fourdecades, but he has been a dedicated promoter andoutstanding example of one who lives the Catholicand Vincentian mission of Niagara University.”Al earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting fromNiagara University in 1968. He became a certifiedpublic accountant in 1971 and an assistantprofessor at NU two years later. By 1977, Al hadacquired an MBA and was named an associateprofessor at Niagara, a capacity he served in untilearning full professorship in 2001. roughout, hepublished numerous books, journal articles andbusiness reports, and made countless presentationson accounting, business standards and ethics. Al isa member of the New York State Society of CPAs,the Institute of Management Accountants and theAmerican Accounting Association.Beyond his duties as a professor, Al has acted asdean of the College of Business Administration;chaired the Accounting Department; mentoredjunior faculty members; advised Beta Alpha Psi, thehonorary organization for financial informationstudents and professionals; and consulted with localcompanies through the university’s Family BusinessCenter. In addition, Al has coordinated NU’svolunteer income tax assistance (VITA) programfor low-income and elderly residents and served asdirector of university mission for many years. Hehas received Niagara University’s VincentianMission Award and the College of BusinessAdministration’s Excellence in Teaching Award.In observance of his committed efforts on behalf ofthe university, the Alfonso Oddo EndowedScholarship in Accountancy was established in hishonor upon his retirement.National Hockey League pioneer Willie O’Reetook part in a ceremonial puck drop at the Feb. 16Niagara men’s hockey game vs. Canisius as partof a celebration of Black History Month. Williewas the first black player in the NHL and pavedthe way for future players of diverse ethnic andeconomic backgrounds.e Canadian native played 45 games for theBoston Bruins from 1958-61 as part of a 21-yearcareer, spent mostly with the Los Angeles Bladesand the San Diego Gulls of the Western HockeyLeague. He now serves as the NHL’s director ofyouth development, working with the Hockey IsFor Everyone initiative that exposed more than45,000 boys and girls of diverse backgrounds tounique hockey experiences.Niagara University’s four-year graduation rateof 61.1 percent topped all public and privatecolleges or universities in Western New York,according to a 2010 graduation-tracking websiteproduced by e Chronicle of Higher Education(http://collegecompletion.chronicle.com/).e four-year graduation rate is based on first-time,full-time undergraduates who entered Niagara as acohort. e calculation of graduation rate does notinclude students who began as part-time freshmenor those who transferred to the school.e Chronicle’s “College Completion” report alsoindicates that Niagara’s four-year graduation rateof 61.1 percent also tops the New York stateaverage of nearly 56 percent for four-year privateschools and 37.8 percent for the state’s four-yearpublic schools.Roselind Gullo Bogner, Ph.D., associate professorof school counseling, was recently awarded theCareer Achievement Award from the New YorkState School Counselor Association at its statewideconference. She was recognized for hersubstantial contributions to her students, place ofemployment, colleagues and community; hercommitment to professional school counseling;and her record of service to the profession.In response to the increasing number of veteranschoosing to pursue degrees at Niagara University,alumni from the Class of 1980 have establishedthe Sergeant Major Fred E. Kirtchen MemorialScholarship Fund, an endowment that willfinancially assist returning veterans who areattending NU. e fund is named in honor ofKirtchen, a member of the Class of 1980, whowas decorated for valor in Vietnam and rose tothe highest levels of responsibility in the Army.Bill Newton, assistant director of campusactivities, has been named Campus EventPlanner of the Year by Power Performers Inc., anational speakers and entertainment bureau.Chosen for the honor from among more than4,000 of his peers at college campuses nationwide,Bill received special commendation for the rolehe played in bringing acclaimed mentalist RobertChanning to Niagara last fall.Shawn P. Daly, Ph.D., P.E., has been nameddean of Niagara University’s College of BusinessAdministration following a nationwide search.He comes to Niagara from the University ofthe Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas.He assumed his new position at Niagara onApril 10, 2012, replacing Dr. Mark Wilson, whoretired from NU last summer to enlist in theAmeriCorps.For the third straight year, the Club managersAssociation of America’s Student Chapter of theYear resides on Monteagle Ridge. NiagaraUniversity’s student chapter of the CMAAtopped 56 other colleges and universities fromthroughout the country to receive the prestigiousannual award at the association’s 85th WorldConference on Club Management and BusinessExposition in New Orleans, La., on Feb. 25. eaward is a CMAA-sponsored recognition programfor outstanding work and successful accomplishmentsin the association’s student sector.

ON THE RIDGEThree College of Education graduate studentshad the opportunity to present their research atKappa Delta Pi International Honor Society inEducation’s biannual convocation in November.Ryan Coram, president of Niagara’s Alpha AlphaBeta chapter; Chelsea Riedl, vice president;and Michael Montanaro, secretary, traveled toIndianapolis to discuss multiculturalism andconstructivist practice as a way to preparestudents for a globalized world.Father michael J. Tumulty, C.m., who served ina variety of capacities at Niagara University overthe course of 42 years, passed away Nov. 26, 2011,at St. Catherine’s Infirmary in Philadelphia, Pa.He was 89. Father Tumulty entered the Congregationof the Mission in 1944 and was ordainedin May 1951. at same year, he was assigned toNiagara University as an English instructor, a rolehe would serve in for the majority of his career atNU. Father Tumulty had been assigned toNiagara on two other occasions, also acting as aprefect of discipline and registrar.Roselind Gullo BognerBill NewtonShawn Daly5At the start of the fall semester, members ofthe university’s EAGLE (Experience And Growthin Leadership Education) Leadership studentgroup began collecting can tabs for the Tabs for KidsFund, an organization that recycles aluminum, usingthe proceeds to purchase wheelchairs and relatedequipment for children with physical disabilities.On Dec. 6, 2011, they presented RobertHampson, the blind young man who essentiallyfounded Tabs for Kids at age 5, with the morethan 37,000 tabs that had been collected onMonteagle Ridge. Supplemental cash donationsand a $1,000 contribution from the NiagaraUniversity Student Government Association(NUSGA) brought the NU community’s totalmonetary gift to $1,101.Willie O’ReeL to R: Chelsea Riedl, Michael Montanaroand Ryan CoramL to R: Niagara University students Sean Farber, ’13, Rebecca Bailey, ’12, and Gabi Sorrentino, ’13,present a check to Tabs for Kids founder Robert Hampson.

ON THE RIDGEThe Healing ProjectBy Lisa McMahon6In 1892, Sister Marie de Mandat-Grancey, aDaughter of Charity, purchased and beganrestoring Meryemana Evi (Mary’s House)in Ephesus, Turkey, the site where the VirginMary is said to have lived her final years.One hundred twenty years later, a NiagaraUniversity professor is hoping to discover whyboth Muslim and Christian pilgrims visit thesacred site. And her research just might help thebeatification initiative for Sister Marie.“As a student of Islam, what intrigued me about thehouse was that the pilgrims were predominantlyMuslim,” says Dr. Amelia Gallagher, associateprofessor of religious studies. “Of course, there’s aprominent position of Mary in the Koran in Islam,and these kinds of shrine pilgrimage spots inTurkey tend to be really local, but I just found itinteresting. I had since then read evidence here andthere of people going there, proclaiming healings,and that is actually what my project is about:studying how Christians and Muslims approachthe same place, known for the same sanctity, for thepurposes of procuring healing for illness.”Dr. Gallagher will leave for Turkey this summerand take a fall sabbatical to conduct her research.She has visited the site before and remembersthinking that it was a very beautiful place andbeing surprised that, despite being a student ofreligion, she had never heard of it before. But shewas visiting friends at the time and paid littleattention to the reasons why others were visitingthe house. is time, she’s planning to investigatewhat is leading pilgrims, by the millions, to thissmall stone house on a mountain in Ephesus.“ere’s a spring at the house,” she notes. “A lotof these Marian sites are places of miraculoussprings with water taps, and people drink fromthe water and bring the water back home tosomebody who’s sick. ose are the kind ofpractices that I’m looking at.”While Dr. Gallagher’s research is not directlyfocused on Sister Marie’s connection to the house,she admits the association adds to her interest inthe project, because of its ties to the Vincentiansand the fact Sister Marie was a nurse.“Her story is quite compelling,” Dr. Gallaghersays. “She just sort of gave up everything andchose to be a nurse in the strong Daughters ofCharity tradition of nursing. at’s why I’m soglad I brought it back here.”Sister Marie was born in 1837 to French aristocrats.In 1858, she joined the Daughters of Charity, andultimately was stationed at a French hospital inSmyrna (now Izmir), Turkey. While there, shebecame aware of the visions of a German nunnamed Anne Catherine Emmerich, whichsuggested that the Virgin Mary accompanied theApostle John to Ephesus and lived in a house in themountains there. She encouraged Father HenriJung and Father Eugene Pulin, two Lazarist(French Vincentian) priests, to investigate the siteas detailed in the book e Life of the Blessed VirginMary from the Visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich.e two priests came upon a first-century set ofrooms on the mountain. Sister Marie subsequentlypurchased the mountain and spent the rest of herlife and her considerable fortune restoring the site.is devotion earned her the distinction ofFoundress of Mary’s House.A year ago, Sister Marie’s case for canonizationwas opened by the Diocese of Kansas City.Although Dr. Gallagher is conducting herresearch independently of the historicalcommission working on the cannonizationefforts, the group has contacted her about herresearch of the site. Should she discoveranything that establishes Sister Marie as aprominent figure in Ephesus, or finds someonewho proclaims a healing that is attributed toSister Marie, Dr. Gallagher will pass thatinformation along.“I’m not going to approach my research thatway,” she explains, “but I would be intenselyinterested if anybody mentions her.”

ON THE RIDGEArnold Wins the BattleIt was a day he will surely remember for therest of his life.And happily, it should be a long and healthy life.It was late last August when Scott Arnold,terrified but still positive, had recently undergonesurgery for testicular cancer and wasscheduled for a follow-up with his physician.“I had to go to the hospital to meet my doctorbecause he had gotten my lab results back,”remembered Scott, a 22-year-old sophomorepower forward on the Niagara University hockeyteam. “I went and spoke to him, and my parentscame with me. I waited for an hour and thenfinally went in and saw him. He gave me thedetails on how the surgery had gone well, and thatI wouldn’t be needing any further treatment.”Scott was diagnosed on Aug. 21 and had surgeryfour days later.“It was definitely mixed emotions, and I wasdefinitely scared at first, knew it was 2012, andI knew it was treatable,” Scott said. “I wasworried that I would need more treatment thanjust the surgery. I was worried, but a big key wasto stay positive.”It would be normal for someone in that situationto become angry and feel self-pity. Scott wasno different.“At first, I thought, ‘Wow, I have terrible luck, itis awful,’” said Scott, who has played in all 36Niagara games this season. “When I was able toget treated and get through it quickly, I wasreally happy that I was coming out on top.”If you think that was hard on Scott, actually itwas nothing. A nightmarish waiting period oftwo weeks followed, and one can just imaginewhat churned stormily in Scott’s mind.“It was the worst part,” Scott admitted. “Schoolwas starting, guys were back here for thepreseason, and I was frustrated that I couldn’t behere with them. At the same time, I was nervousbecause I was waiting to hear if I was going tobe home for the first half of the year gettingsecond treatments or not.“I was on pins and needles for two weeks.”But now, months after everything wentdown, Scott has a busy life with school,hockey and, of course, family and socialactivities. And as destiny dictated, heis keenly intent on communicatingabout the disease.“It is very important to makesure people are aware of this,”he said. “It is sincere to me, itis close to my heart. I want tomake sure kids are aware ofit, and kids can take care ofit the way I did.”Scott was recently told byhis doctor that he is 100percent past the disease.He has been blessed withtwo invaluable gifts —good health and a perspectivefew of us possess.“Going through something likethat, you appreciate the little things alot more,” he said. “ings that I mighthave taken for granted before, I don’t now.“I make the most of my opportunities now.”By Thomas Baldwin, Niagara Gazette (reprinted with permission)7

ON THE RIDGEA Degree With a DifferenceBy Lisa McMahon8Sol Kang and her family left their nativeKorea and moved to Canada in searchof better services for her Deaf brother.When she enrolled at Niagara, she discoveredthat the university offered courses in AmericanSign Language. She is taking the courses tobetter communicate with her brother and tolearn how to help him become part of the area’sDeaf community.Abdulmajeed Altamimi came to Niagara fromSaudi Arabia to study business. He enrolled inASL 100 simply to meet his degree’s culturaldiversity requirement, but has become sofascinated with the Deaf world that he nowplans to return home to work with the Saudigovernment and improve opportunities for theDeaf in that country.Although she was less than a year fromgraduating, senior Kelly Pass was still not sureof her career plans. She enrolled in ASL 100 andfound her passion. She was so inspired by herexperiences in the class that she now wants tobecome an interpreter.Nanette Harmon demonstratesthe sign for the word “stop.”ese are the kinds of stories Nanette Harmon,one of the two instructors teaching American SignLanguage at Niagara, readily shares. “I’ve beendelighted by the level of enthusiasm the studentshave for something new and challenging,” she says.“I’ve seen students who have embraced this wholeunderstanding that there’s many ways to be Deaf,because we focus on people, we focus on how tointeract with another cultural group that exists.”For years, an introductory course in ASL was theonly option for students, but demand for thecourse, and for additional training, led to theestablishment of an undergraduate minor inAmerican Sign Language and Deaf Studies lastfall. Niagara University is the only institution inthe area to have one.“We have a sequence of five classes,” saysNanette, who joined the faculty when theprogram began expanding about six years ago.“Four of those are language classes and they allinclude some degree of information aboutculture. And then we also have a strictly cultureclass — American Deaf Culture. e wholeminor is designed to give the kids the knowledgeand the skill base that their competitors with thesame degree don’t have. We like to call it ‘adegree with a difference,’ because if you take anymajor at NU, you can add ASL Studies to it.”Nanette shares teaching responsibilities with KristaRahelich, a speech pathologist who began teachingASL at Niagara in 2003. Krista has been teachingsign for 18 years and has interpreted in the Deafcommunity. She says that she fell in love with ASLafter taking a course and decided to continue tolearn the language. “Having a linguistics background,I found ASL both beautiful andfascinating, which led me to pursue my educationin ASL,” she says. “I truly believe that our passionfor the language rubs off on the students and theyin turn learn to love ASL and Deaf Culture.”For Nanette, who holds a master’s degree inDeaf education and has been teaching ASL insome fashion for more than 30 years, ASL is asupport language. An autoimmune disease shedeveloped as a child destroyed her hearing, andin addition to ASL, she uses lip reading and ahearing aid to help her communicate. She saysthat she considers her work a ministry.“It’s amazing to me that while this is the thing thatI have to deal with, God has given me such anincredible outlet to focus on what I have and whatI can do and not what I’ve lost,” she says.Both instructors emphasize that being Deaf is alinguistic and cultural difference, not a disability.eir students develop a respect for the Deafcommunity and the skills to teach others generalinformation about deafness as it relates to theirchosen career field.“We’re not training interpreters,” Nanette says.“We’re just trying to create students who willthen be the expert in deafness no matter whattheir field is. So they would be the go-to person,whether it’s in hospitality, education, business,criminal justice … we think it fits everywhere.”On this Wednesday afternoon in February, abouta dozen students have gathered in the GallagherCenter to practice signing during the firstAmerican Sign Language Social Hour of thesemester. Nanette and Krista host it as a casual wayto practice ASL outside of the classroom. Today,the students play games like Family Feud, takingturns fingerspelling their answers to questionsabout animals and places where people havetattoos. ey were silent except for occasionalclapping of hands, laughter, and the buzzing soundNanette made when someone gave an incorrectanswer. As the games went on, the group morethan doubled and the hour came and went,evidence of the popularity of the course and theenthusiasm of the students taking it.

The national French-language touring company Le Théâtre de la Chandelle Verteperformed a special presentation of La Farce de Maitre Pathelin (The Farce of Mr. Pathelin)at Niagara University for area high school students studying the French language. HenrikBorgstrom, Ph.D., chair of the Department of modern and Classical Languages andfounding member of the touring company (pictured here with Francine Conley-Scott),wrote the new adaptation of the text, and marilyn Deighton, assistant professor oftheatre and fine arts, designed and built the costumes for the performance. The designswere based on figures from medieval puppet shows, with highly exaggerated bodyshapes and features. This collaborative project was funded by a $5,000 summer researchgrant awarded by the Niagara University Research Council. La Farce de Maitre Pathelin,a 15th century farce originally performed by itinerant companies in the late middle Agesand early Renaissance, will be performed by Le Théâtre de la Chandelle Verte for Frenchlanguage students at universities all across the United States this spring, with a stop atNiagara’s Leary Theatre in may.1,000 WORDS

STUDENT PROFILESean Farber, ’13: A Future of ServiceSean Farber, ’13, remembers the exactmoment when he had what he calls “anepiphany” that changed his life. It wasin June after his freshman year at Niagara. Hewas driving home after attending a nationalVincentian Young Adult Convocation hosted byDePaul University, an event that included service,workshops and liturgical celebration to commemoratethe 350th anniversary of the deaths ofSt. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac. Ashe reflected upon his experience, he realized thathe wanted service to be a focal point of his career.“I was so inspired by the people I met,” he says. “Irealized that they are the type of people I wantedto be surrounded by — service-minded, caringindividuals — and I wanted to serve others, too,because that’s where I feel the most comfortable.”Although he had done some community serviceactivities in high school, he says, “I never thoughtof making a career out of it until then.”When he returned to Niagara, Sean became moreactive in service opportunities, both on and offcampus. Two such opportunities were a trip toEmmitsburg, Md., with the university’s BASIC(Brothers and Sisters in Christ) program, and avolunteer position with AmeriCorps over thesummer as a member of a YMCA camp’sweekend support staff.“AmeriCorps reaffirmed my beliefs that I want tohave a rewarding job when I graduate from NU,”he says. “I worked hard, but I got to see thecampers benefit from my hard work first hand.”Last semester, Sean, a member of the studentEAGLE (Experience And Growth in LeadershipEducation) program, and fellow EAGLE leaderBy Lisa McMahonGabi Sorrentino, ’13, spearheaded a can tab driveto benefit the Tabs for Kids Fund, an organizationthat recycles aluminum and uses the proceeds topurchase wheelchairs and related equipment forchildren with physical disabilities. In addition tosetting up collection bins in the residence halls,Sean constructed a necklace of two water bottlesand two jars, which essentially served as a travelingdonation center.“Wearing something that big and obnoxious aroundyour neck is bound to spark a conversation,” Seansays. “A lot of people would ask me what I wasdoing, so the word of the fundraiser spread quickly.”Sean also undertook an endeavor to raiseawareness of the situation in Somalia and tosupport Dr. Abdiweli Ali, the Niagara Universityprofessor who was appointed prime minister ofthat country last year. For two weeks, he chose tofollow a 1,000-calorie per day diet to gain a deeperunderstanding of hunger, and he blogged about hisexperience to inspire others to take action insupport of the Somali people. e experimentserved to capture the attention of many people aswell as to instill in Sean a greater appreciation ofthe availability of food and water in America.With his junior year coming to an end, Sean isworking to complete his double major in communicationstudies and computer and informationsystems and continuing to participate in a widerange of service opportunities. He’s also finishinga study-abroad experience in England. He hopesto put his skills to use at a small, nonprofitorganization that he’s “passionate about” after hegraduates. “Right now,” he says,” I’m leaning towardsomething internationally related, but we’ll see.”11

Three Niagara Alums Set Standards for New York State JudgesBy Lisa McMahon12When members of the New Yorkstate judiciary question whetheror not their conduct is inaccordance with the standards and policiesestablished by the Chief Administrator of theCourts, they turn to the Advisory Committeeon Judicial Ethics, a committee of their peers.Three of the members of this influential groupare Niagara University alumni.State Supreme Court Judge Jerome C. Gorski,’58, and Town of Lewiston Justice and longtimeprofessor in the College of Education omasJ. Sheeran, M.S.Ed.’77, are among the 26members of the ACJE. Valley Stream VillageJustice Robert G. Bogle, ’79, is a faculty advisor.Collectively, they have served for more than aquarter of a century, debating and interpretingthe rules that regulate judicial conduct for thestate’s more than 3,000 full- and part-timejudges and justices and other quasi-judicialofficials, including judicial hearing officers,support magistrates, and court attorney-referees.e ACJE was formed in 1987 to help New Yorkstate’s judges and justices adhere to the highstandards set forth in the Rules GoverningJudicial Conduct. In 1988, the New York StateLegislature codified the ACJE’s creation. Sincethen, the committee has issued approximately 140to 220 formal opinions annually in response toquestions from judges, justices and quasi-judicialofficers about the propriety of their own conduct.Inquiries can range from possible ethical concernsregarding membership in various legal andcommunity organizations to election campaignconduct and contributions. More recently,inquiries have been made concerning issues ofthe day; for example, may a judge hear a casethat involves a Facebook “friend”? While theinquiries are confidential, the decisions arepublic and offer valuable guidance to themembers of the state judiciary, particularly incircumstances that are not specifically governedby a particular rule.“To my knowledge,” notes Gorski, “no judge inthe state has been disciplined by the JudicialConduct Commission after they have beenadvised by our committee that the course ofconduct about which the judge has inquiredcomports with the rules and is otherwise ethical.”Because committee members represent a widevariety of constituencies, from courts in theBronx and Manhattan to those from the ruralparts of the Adirondacks and the Finger Lakes,they often engage in considerable debate anddiscussion before coming to a decision.Interestingly, the three NU alumni find that,more often than not, their opinions are aligned,something Sheeran attributes to their sharedNiagara experience.“What we see and promote is largely groundedin our NU mission,” he notes. “We areon the same page in our opinions,grounded in the mission’sdignity of thehuman person,which is theprimary focus ofwhat drives our decisions.”Once made, these decisions are published asformal opinions. Judges who take actions inaccordance with these opinions are “presumedproper” for purposes of any subsequentinvestigation by the New York StateCommission on Judicial Conduct.“It is clear that we serve a very serious andvital function for the judges throughout thestate of New York and it is well into thethousands in terms of individuals we giveguidance to,” says Bogle. “The major concernsthat we face would be unaddressed if ourcommittee did not exist, and judges who wantto do the right thing would be left to faceeither impeachment or removal.”

niagarabookshelfThe following are some of the books available in the Niagara University library published by NU faculty members.Being Faithful: Christian Commitment inmodern SocietyJudith Merkle, SNDdeN, Ph.D.Professor of Religious Studiesis book explores how the Christian life is lived ina pluralistic situation where different contexts ofbelonging give rise to different moral challenges. Weseek to gather out of the fragments of modern lifethe sustenance of a network of belonging, belief andpractice which comprise a faithful life and serve asthe framework for our moral commitments.City of ShadowsShannon HodgesAssociate Professor of CounselingWhen Bob Gifford takes up a one-year appointmentas counselor at Biltmore College, he has noidea his life will soon be in danger. Someone, orsome organization, believes Bob is on the brink ofuncovering a conspiracy. And just when a newappointment in back-of-beyond Texas appears to offeran escape route, Bob comes closer than ever to death.Conservative Realizations of Herglotz-Nevanlinna FunctionsEduard Tsekanovskii, Ph.D.Professor of MathematicsWith Yuri Arlinskii and Sergey Belyiis book is devoted to conservative realizations ofvarious classes of Stieltjes, inverse Stieltjes, andgeneral Herglotz-Nevanlinna functions asimpedance functions of linear systems. e mainfeature is a new approach to the realization theoryprofoundly involving developed extension theory intriplets of rigged Hilbert spaces and unboundedoperators as state-space operators of linear systems.The Cost of Free Speech: Pornography, HateSpeech and Their Challenge to LiberalismAbigail Levin, Ph.D.Assistant Professor of Philosophyis book argues that how courts resolve freedomof expression cases involving pornography or hatespeech reveals more about the power of state speechto potentially oppress women and minorities thanit does about the power of pornography and hatespeech themselves.The madameShannon Risk, Ph.D.Assistant Professor of HistoryHistory professor Tilda Maples has been on the trailof the famous 19th-century lecture circuit healer andseer, Madame Graveri, for years. e trail, however,seems to grow cold by the eve of the stock marketcrash. rough a series of fateful events, Tilda isthrown into Gravari’s world of intrigue.The Problem of Negligent Omissions:medieval Action Theories to the RescueMichael Barnwell, Ph.D.Associate Professor of Philosophyrough insightful interpretations of the actiontheories propounded by Aristotle, Anselm, Aquinas,Scotus, and Suārez, this book demonstrates thephilosophical and theological importance of negligentomissions and constructs a model by which theproblem of their voluntariness can be solved.Religion and Language in Post-Soviet RussiaBrian Bennett, Ph.D.Chair and Associate Professor of Religious Studiesis is the first book devoted to Church Slavonic inthe contemporary period. Ranging over such diverseareas as liturgy, pedagogy, typography, mythology, andconspiracy theory, the book illuminates the complexinterrelationship between language and faith in postcommunistsociety, and shows how Slavonic hasperformed important symbolic work during amomentous chapter in Russian history.13If you’ve recently written a book, please let us know. Contact LisaMcMahon at lmcmahon@niagara.edu.

LIVING THE mISSIONA NU Look at Service LearningBy Lisa McMahonOn paper, the mission of NiagaraUniversity’s Institute for CivicEngagement is to reinforce theuniversity’s commitment to the region bystrengthening existing community partnershipsand forming new town-gown relationships. Butin practice, the institute’s director, Dr. DavidTaylor, is envisioning a much greater purpose forthe institute. He wants it to be a catalyst totransform higher education, and to perhaps evenchange the world.“One of the long-term visions for the instituteis to develop programming and opportunitiesthat are distinctly Niagara,” Dr. Taylor says. “Ina Vincentian community and university, we canhelp nurture an idea someone has to change theworld and bring it to fruition. at’s what weshould be doing, particularly things designed tohelp people in need.” He adds that the creationof a social entrepreneurship incubator within theinstitute might be one way to achieve this.While this vision has a decidedly globalperspective, the steps needed to bring it about starton the Niagara campus. Dr. Taylor notes studentlearning must be at the heart of everything theuniversity is doing, and that the institute’spartnerships are being developed with theintention of making experienced-based learningopportunities increasingly available to students.While Niagara has long offered a service-learningcomponent in the classroom, Dr. Taylor says thisinitiative looks at service learning in a different way.“I understand the value of service and its potentialto greatly impact students, but we have to rememberthat students are at a university,” he says. “ereneeds to be a stronger connection between what thestudents do in terms of service and the specificlearning outcomes associated with course content.”is doesn’t mean that he advocates against thetraditional service-learning Niagara’s studentshave been doing for decades. In fact, the institutewill assist NU’s Learn and Serve Niagaraprogram in identifying opportunities for creatingthese kinds of experiences. But Dr. Taylor ishoping that the partnerships he forges also leadto hands-on work that students can detail on arésumé as applicable experience for a job. Hereferences a Niagara computer and informationsciences course during which students earn anationally recognized certificate in forensiccomputing and says he’d like to help create moreof these kinds of learning opportunities.“Students, on average, take 30-40 classes here atNiagara,” he says. “Imagine if in every one ofthose classes they did something that wasworthy of being put on a résumé. Imagine whatthat résumé would look like after 40 classes.”With his knowledge of the university’s capabilitiesand his numerous contacts in the community,Dr. Taylor says he can serve as a matchmakerbetween university professors who want to addrésumé-building practical experiences to their coursecurriculum and the community organizations thatare looking for assistance. e institute can also be aresource for professors who want to design andconduct research-based projects in the community.Dr. Taylor notes that it is becoming increasinglyimportant for students to have an internationalexperience, and that the institute can help createthose opportunities as well, whether they arethrough partnerships with international agenciesin the local community or through connectionswith organizations that have a worldwide presence,like the Vincentians.e institute, which officially opened in September,is the formalization of an initiative launched by theRev. Joseph L. Levesque, C.M., when he wasnamed president of the university more than 10years ago. At that time, the Committee to Assist inthe Revitalization of Niagara Falls was formed tohelp build capacity in that city. Numerouscommunity relationships have been built since then,and the institute was established to ensure thecontinuation of this important work. It will alsoserve as the home for two of Niagara University’sflagship community-minded programs, BorderCommunity SERVICE and ReNU Niagara.Dr. Taylor was the obvious choice for director, dueto his experiences prior to coming to Niagara (helived homeless as part of his dissertation research)and his recent immersion into Vincentian history,spirituality and service as part of the initial cohortof the Vincentian Mission Institute, a programdesigned to address the distinctive nature ofCatholic and Vincentian higher education bydeveloping successive generations of lay leaders tosupport the unique identities of these universities.e VMI experience culminated in a trip to Francebeginning at the birth place of St. Vincent de Pauland tracing his life throughout the south of France.“It became clear to me that Vincent was anincredible organizer, someone who could inspire hiscontemporaries to serve the poor and oppressed,”Dr. Taylor says. “But he was also able to refocus hisefforts as the needs of the community changed. AsFather Robert Maloney, C.M., once wrote aboutVincent, ‘He had the courage and skill to walkwhere none had walked before.’”Inspired by St. Vincent, Dr. Taylor is ready to helpNiagara refocus its efforts to prepare for thedramatic transformation in higher education hebelieves will happen soon. “It will be one unlikeanything that those currently working in the fieldhave experienced,” he says. “us, it is important forcolleges and universities to revisit their mission andpurpose and to develop both a short- and long-termstrategy to guarantee the highest quality educationpossible for their students.” He’s confident that theinstitute can be a valuable asset in this regard.To that end, Dr. Taylor’s goals for the immediatefuture are to build a full slate of partnershipsbetween the community and the university: bigand small; formal and informal; with andwithout academic components. In five years, he’shoping that this effort leads to a “tremendousincrease in very targeted, high-impact, highqualityexperiential learning opportunities forstudents.” And long term?“e choice of the words ‘civic engagement’ inthe name of the institute was intentional,” hesays. “So any way that we can better engageeveryone in our university community in thecivic life of not only our local and regionalcommunity, but also at the national level, wouldbe a broad but long-term goal.”Given the progress that’s been made so far andthe passion Dr. Taylor has for the work, NiagaraUniversity’s Institute for Civic Engagement justmight change the world after all.15

ADVANCEmENT mATTERSCastellani Family makes $1 million Gift16The Castellani family, founders andlongtime patrons of the Castellani ArtMuseum on the Niagara Universitycampus, made a $1 million gift in March forcontinuing support of the museum.“e art museum is a very special place for ourfamily,” said Robert Castellani, a 1964 NiagaraUniversity graduate and current member ofNU’s Board of Trustees. “We want to continuethe legacy that our parents left and support themuseum as a premier resource for students, theuniversity and the community.”“We continue to be grateful to the members ofthe Castellani family for their generous supportof Niagara University and the museum,” said theRev. Joseph L. Levesque, C.M., president ofNiagara University. “eir legacy on our campusis very clear and this gift will allow the museumto thrive and continue to be a regional asset forWestern New York.”Mr. and Mrs. Armand J. Castellani begancollecting art in the 1960s about the same timethat Armand Castellani’s grocery business grewinto a corporation. Mr. Castellani started in thegrocery business at age 16 as manager of hisfather’s grocery store in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Afterserving in the military, he returned to thegrocery business in Niagara Falls, where heopened the Great Bear Market in 1951. Inpartnership with omas A. Buscaglia, hefounded Niagara Frontier Services, theforerunner to Tops Markets, which nowoperates the largest chain of supermarkets inWestern New York.In 1978, Mr. Castellani helped support theconstruction of the Buscaglia-Castellani ArtGallery on a satellite campus of NiagaraUniversity as a remembrance to omasBuscaglia, who died in 1967, and as a gift toNiagara University and the Western New Yorkcommunity. At that time, the Castellani’scollection consisted of about 300 artworks fromthe 19th and 20th centuries.By 1989, their collection had grown to over3,000 works, and the new Castellani ArtMuseum was built on Niagara University’s maincampus in 1990,largely through thesupport and visionof Armand Castellaniand his wife, Eleanor.It was Armand andEleanor Castellani’sdream that the museumthey foundedwould serve as “theeducation museum”for both NiagaraUniversity studentsand the Western New York community. “eongoing support of the Castellani familythrough this generous gift will allow us toenhance educational programming for learnersof all ages,” said Kate Koperski, director of themuseum.“In all of our programming, we striveto make learning about art both an eye-openingeducational experience and a pleasure.”e museum currently offers a wide variety ofeducational opportunities. During the annualKids ’n Arts summer camp, children are introducedto both the visual arts and theater, andwork with a different teaching artist each week.e museum’s popular art history lecture series,Meet Me at the CAM, pairs works from thepermanent collection with award-winningDVD series such as the BBC’s e Private Lifeof a Masterpiece. During free monthly docenttours, visitors get to know the museum in greaterdepth and see the latest exhibitions on view.“is gift will help us to revitalize our schooltour program,” said Kate. During the past year,the museum has developed a series of lessonplans that highlight works from the permanentcollection and adhere to New York StateLearning Standards and Curriculum, as well asthe new Common Core Learning Standards forEnglish, history, science, math and other subjectareas. “Using the visual arts to teach across thecurriculum has been shown to strengthen criticalthinking and communication skills, helping toensure that students are college and careerready,” noted Kate. “e Castellani family giftwill help us to market these new curriculumbasedschool tours to educators and to offertours at no cost.”

ADVANCEmENT mATTERSWilliam Gacioch and Family make$2 million Gift to Niagara UniversityWilliam Gacioch, ’61, and his familygave Niagara University a $2 milliongift in February for the renovationof Meade Hall, which will be renamed the GaciochFamily Alumni and Admissions Center.“Bill Gacioch’s continuing commitment toNiagara University is very inspiring,” said theRev. Joseph L. Levesque, C.M., president ofNiagara University. “He has served theuniversity in a number of ways, including hismembership on the Board of Trustees. Hissupport of the Meade Hall project is verypersonal for him, and the development of theGacioch Family Center will ensure his legacy onthe Niagara campus.”As a freshman in 1957, Bill Gacioch knew thathe could only afford his first year at Niagara, sohe met with the Rev. Edward Burke, C.M., todiscuss his financial options. Bill was selected toparticipate in the university’s newly developedwork-study program. He was assigned toMeade Hall, the residence of the Vincentians,where he waited tables and manned theswitchboard for four years.“My parents believed in good schools and mymother encouraged me to look at Niagara eventhough we didn’t have the money,” said Bill.“Father Burke was very instrumental to myeducation, and my experience working in MeadeHall had a direct impact on who I am today.”Bill is extremely appreciative of this work-studyassistance, and also of the education he receivedwhile attending Niagara.Bill Gacioch and his wife, Nancy, with the Rev. Joseph L. Levesque, C.M., Niagara Universitypresident, at the 2010 President’s Dinner, during which the Gaciochs and their children werehonored with the St. Vincent de Paul Award for their exemplary charitable service.“Niagara was critical in helping me realize whatI could do and how to do it, and guided me inthe right direction,” said Bill. “I continue to bevery impressed with every aspect of Niagara —the quality of the alumni, the academics and thecurrent students. I believe in giving back to helpothers and, through this gift, our entire family ismaking an investment in Niagara.”e donation from the Gacioch family is a part ofNiagara University’s $80 million capital campaign,“e Promise of Niagara ... e next 150 years,”which is nearing completion. In 1999, theGaciochs donated $1 million to the renovation ofSt. Vincent’s Hall on the Niagara campus.Niagara University presented Bill Gacioch with anhonorary degree in 2007 and the university’sprestigious Dunleavy Award in 2011. Bill and hiswife, Nancy, were presented with the Father John J.Lynch Award in 2000, and the Gacioch family washonored with the St. Vincent de Paul Award at theNiagara University President’s Dinner in 2010.Bill is currently the chairman and chief executiveofficer of National Property ManagementAssociates Inc. Bill’s son, Michael, serves aspresident while his son, David, is senior vicepresident of the IT department. Bill’s daughter,Katherine Hannon, is senior vice president ofhuman relations.Gacioch Family Alumni andAdmissions CenterFor more than 80 years, Meade Hall servedas the residence of the Vincentianpriests and brothers who staffedNiagara University. It was originallycalled Our Lady of Angels FacultyHouse because it housed the faculty ofthe College and Seminary of Our Ladyof Angels. The three-story building wasrededicated in 1967 in honor of the Rev.Francis L. Meade, C.M. (1894-1958),who served from 1947 to 1957 as the16th president of the university.The Gacioch Family Alumni andAdmissions Center will be a missioncritical facility for Niagara University.Through the development of theGacioch Center, prospective studentsand their families will have theopportunity to learn the strengths of theacademic programs and feel theheritage of Niagara alive in the building.The renovation schedule for theGacioch Center will be announced at afuture date.17

Crossing BoundariesInterdisciplinary Education Is a Hallmarkof a Niagara EducationBy Lisa McMahonThe College of Business Administration and the Niagara Theatre Departmentpartner to present a workshop that helps business students improve their publicspeaking and presentation skills.Dr. Paul Vermette, left, professor of education, and Christopher Aquino, assistantprofessor of accounting, co-authored the paper Improving Teaching in aFreshman Managerial Accounting Class: Collaboration Between Accounting andEducation, which discussed their experiment to employ proven effectivesecondary education teaching techniques into a freshman-level managerialaccounting class.As defined by the National Academies, interdisciplinary research is “a mode ofresearch by teams or individuals that integrates information, data, techniques, tools, perspectives,concepts, and/or theories from two or more disciplines or bodies of specialized knowledge toadvance fundamental understanding or to solve problems whose solutions are beyond the scope ofa single discipline or area of research practice.”As performed on the Niagara University campus, interdisciplinary research is forming newconnections, solving societal problems, and preparing students for careers in new fields.“The liberal arts foundation itself is an interdisciplinary one, where students learn from a variety offields to gain knowledge that can be applied to their majors,” notes Dr. Tim Downs, Niagara’s vicepresident for academic affairs. “As a liberal arts based institution, it’s imperative for us to encouragewhat I would call integrative thinking. And what this means is that from the student-learningperspective, we value students applying knowledge and skills across all domains of learning.”Niagara’s liberal arts foundation is established through its general education curriculum, whichemphasizes active, integrative learning. Through courses in writing, religious studies, history,philosophy, mathematics, foreign language, natural science, social science, and the humanities,students gain the intellectual and ethical background to search for, create, and assess solutions toreal-life problems in the local and global community.This focus on interdisciplinary education was first introduced at Niagara in 1980, when the UniversityStudies program was launched as a way to demonstrate how diverse academic disciplines contributeto the discussion and solution of common intellectual issues and practical problems.“In the late 1970s, many of the leading educational foundations, particularly the Carnegie Foundationfor the Advancement of Teaching, had been urging universities to undertake such programs,reminding faculty that most important issues in life are rarely one dimensional,” notes universityprofessor Dr. John Stranges, who served as academic vice president at that time. “The UniversityStudies program was the first true attempt to introduce the idea of interdisciplinary education intothe Niagara University curriculum. We chose the general education component as the entry point toensure that all students, regardless of choice of major, would undergo the experience.”Students were required to take one UST course in their senior year. Two instructors from two differentdepartments taught the courses, which were offered until 2003.Although UST courses are no longer part of Niagara’s curriculum, numerous projects that involveinterdisciplinary work are still being conducted across Monteagle Ridge.For example, under the auspices of the university’s Academic Center for Integrated Sciences and incooperation with the Heart Center of Niagara, faculty and students from the college’s biology andchemistry departments have been working together for several years to research the use ofbiomarkers and biological and molecular mechanisms for the diagnosis and treatment of coronaryheart disease. Senior scientist Dr. Deborah Leonard is the research coordinator for the project, whichis a collaboration among Dr. Robert Greene, chair of the biology department; Dr. Mary McCourt, chairof the chemistry department; Dr. Chris Stoj, assistant professor of biochemistry; Dr. Michael Merhige,a cardiologist at the Heart Center of Niagara at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center; and Dr. BrentWilliams of the Geisinger Health System, an integrated health services organization.

“This research has had a positive impact on ourstudents,” Dr. Leonard says. “Students interested in theclinical aspects of the project have had an opportunityto work at the Heart Center collecting patient data, andothers have been involved in the analysis of biologicalsamples here at Niagara. Some students have also hadthe opportunity to have their research presented atnational and international conferences.”In August of 2011, professors from the psychologydepartment joined their colleagues to look at theway psychological factors, such as depression,anxiety and optimism, interact with the biologicalfactors of CAD.“We felt it would be a good opportunity forcollaboration as there were no psychological orbehavioral data on the patients in the study,” saysDr. Peter Butera, chair of the psychology department,who has been working with psychologyprofessor Dr. Timothy Osberg on the project. “Wesaw this as a unique opportunity to incorporate thestudy of psychological factors in the database onbiological markers of CAD severity.”Dr. Greene is also conducting research withDr. McCourt and Dr. Ron Priefer, associate professorof chemistry, on two projects studying the effects oftherapeutic agents on cancer cells in culture. Theseprojects have resulted in the publication of twopapers with students as co-authors. Dr. Greenenotes that in addition to the dynamic created as aresult of the interaction between the two disciplines,another benefit of this partnership is “the pleasureof exchanging ideas and experiencing new vistaswith colleagues who provide different ways to viewa common challenge.”Another biology professor, Dr. William Edwards, isworking with hydrologists, chemists, engineers andgeologists from the University at Buffalo, as well asstudents from his classes and graduate studentsfrom UB, on stream restoration research to predictwhat physical conditions will result in restoredecosystem function in two local streams, somethingsingle-disciplinary studies have been unable to do.“The most interesting experience is to see theundergrads working their way through our researchprogram with the UB graduate students,” he says.“They are truly interdisciplinary researchers —they’ve never experienced anything else. So whenwe ask them for hypotheses to address a newproblem or application of our research, theyimmediately go for the multidisciplinary approach —it doesn’t even occur to them that this is unusual.”In the English department, Dr. Joseph Little has beencollaborating with Dr. Maritza Branker, an assistantprofessor of mathematics, to examine the role ofanalogy in the development of Irish mathematicianWilliam Rowan Hamilton’s theory of conjugate pairs.Their work, which will be published in TechnicalCommunication Quarterly, is the first of its kind toextend the traditional scholarly discussion oftechnical analogy, which usually focuses onscientific discourse, to that of research-levelmathematics, notes Dr. Little. It’s also the firstresearch manuscript co-authored by a mathematicsprofessor and an English professor to be publishedin either field.“Our driving question was: To what degree didHamilton think in terms of analogies to develop histheory of conjugate pairs? Neither Maritza nor Icould have answered that question alone. We simplydid not have the expertise for it. But together wecould. In that way, this project required a trulyinterdisciplinary effort, a synthesis of our differentdisciplinary approaches into a single, commensurateconceptual scheme,” Dr. Little says.For the past two years, social work professorDr. Kevin Blair has collaborated with colleagues in themath, sociology and criminal justice departments todevelop a survey that measures Niagara students’knowledge of and attitudes toward poverty, as wellas Niagara’s effectiveness in fulfilling its mission byeducating students about the poor. The collaborationenabled the professors to take advantage of theirparticular skills. “Todd (Schoepflin) brings thebroadest base of thinking via sociology; Marlo(Brown) knows less about poverty but knows themath; Dave (Taylor) looks at poverty and itsrelationship to crime and criminology; and I bringthe more practical problem solving; for example,how do we get people food, clothing, shelter andjobs,” Dr. Blair explains.While much of the interdisciplinary work is beingdone between departments, there are interestingcollaborations taking place between colleges aswell. John Overbeck, a visiting professor of marketingin the College of Business, is tapping into theexpertise of the Theatre Department in the Collegeof Arts and Sciences to help students in his salescommunication course overcome their inhibitionsabout public speaking and improve their presentationtechniques. As part of the course, studentsattend a theatre workshop, during which theyparticipate in activities that enhance their verbalcommunication skills.“The idea to do this stems from my belief that mytheatre experience as a student helped my businesscareer,” says John, who is a member of Niagara’sClass of 1975. He added that CEOs often list actingamong the top five academic subjects one shouldtake for success in business.Another College of Business professor is working witha colleague in the College of Education to employsecondary teaching techniques into a freshman-levelmanagerial accounting course. The experimentbetween assistant professor of accounting ChristopherAquino and Dr. Paul Vermette, a professor ofeducation, began in the spring of 2011, Chris’ secondyear of teaching at Niagara, and has led to an increasein student test scores and improved ratings bystudents regarding how the in-class activitiescontributed to their learning.“That’s the one that made me a believer,” Chrissays. “All I did between the two years was put sometools in place.”The two published a paper that they presented in Marchat a regional meeting of the American AccountingAssociation. The paper received Best Manuscript in theTeaching, Learning and Curriculum section.“I’m unabashedly proud of getting the outstandingpaper at an accounting conference,” Dr. Vermettesays. “That says to me that there’s a lot of peopleout there interested in collaborations like ours.”Niagara also encourages students to performinterdisciplinary work through a variety of academicoptions. One such option is the master’s program ininterdisciplinary studies, during which students takegraduate courses from the colleges of BusinessAdministration, Education, and Arts and Sciencesand conduct research in these varied disciplines tocomplete their capstone projects and papers.Students find that the interdisciplinary nature of theirwork gives them a diverse skill set and a newappreciation for the connections between fields.Since its beginnings in the 1980s, interdisciplinaryeducation has become a hallmark of a Niagaraeducation. And the opportunities for continued workin this vein will only be enhanced with the constructionof the university’s new science building,positioning Niagara to be a key player in helpingdiscover the new knowledge needed to providesolutions to society’s increasingly complex problems.19

20NEWS FROm THE NESTAlumni EventsWe have a lot in store for our alumni in the upcoming months.Don’t forget to add these dates to your calendar and check out theEagle’s Nest at www.niagaraalumni.com for more information.*Don’t receive our emails about events?Send your updated information to alumni@niagara.edu!may24 SOLA Reunion on the NU campusJune8 Atlanta — Presidential reception — DinnerMelinda Smith, ’78404.934.6135 or 770.935.4511 • msfundraiser@bellsouth.net11 Buffalo/Niagara — Kist Golf Classic, Niagara FallsCountry ClubDeb Conde, Niagara University Alumni Relations716.286.8787 • dconde@niagara.edu16 Central Maryland — Beer Tasting Event, Wharf Ratat Fells PointMaureen Becker, ’90410.744.2400 • maureen@ipmba.org25 Buffalo/Niagara — The Little Three Golf Tournament,Seneca Hickory Stick Golf CourseDeb Conde, Niagara University Alumni Relations716.286.8787 • dconde@niagara.eduJuly28 Albany — A Day at the Races, Saratoga Race TrackRobert Sheehan, ’85518.441.2758 • rjsheehan2002@yahoo.comPatrick Noonan, ’03518.482.5677 • patrick_d_noonan@hotmail.comDeb Conde, Niagara University Alumni Relations716.286.8787 • dconde@niagara.eduHow do I register for an event?1. Online at the Eagle’s Nest: www.niagaraaalumni.com2. By phone: 716.286.87873. By mail: Alumni Relations OfficeP.O. Box 2008Niagara University, N.Y. 14109-2008Save the Date: Oct. 5-7is year, we celebrate classes with years ending in 2s and 7s but, asalways, we welcome back all alumni to join in the party and the fun! Markyour calendar now and look for a formal invitation in a couple of months!If you are interested in assisting with the planning of your class reunion,please contact Michele Smith at micheles@niagara.edu or 716.286.8775;or Art Cardella at cardella@niagara.edu or 716.286.8791.Check us out online at:Dear fellow alumni,The excitement on campuscontinues into the spring of 2012as the construction of the B.Thomas Golisano Center forIntegrated Sciences progresses.Please check the Eagle’s Nest(www.niagaraalumni.com) forfurther updates, completion andopening dates.More exciting news involvesthe nursing program. During ourlast NUAA board meeting, BarbMalinowski, ’59, noted that thefour-year bachelor of science innursing program was reinstatedand will begin this fall. Thenumber of applicants has greatlyexceeded the capacity of thefirst-year class. Congratulationsto everyone who was involved inbringing the nursing programback to Niagara University.The NUAA Board of Directors recently approved the establishment ofthe Niagara University Alumni Legacy Scholarship. The scholarship willprovide financial assistance to children of Niagara University alumni. Theboard discussed ways to fund the scholarship and is currently researchingideas. Please consider making a donation to the Alumni Legacy Scholarshipwhen contributing to Niagara University.The Promise of Niagara campaign is closing in on its $80 million goal.Please help NU reach this goal by making your gift to the campaign.We continue to identify local community-service projects for our alumni.Please consider making time to volunteer and keep the Alumni Officeabreast of events that take place in your region.Remember that you can stay in contact with Niagara through ouronline community, the Eagle’s Nest. Please take time to visitwww.niagaraalumni.com to find the latest information regarding alumnievents near you, including these upcoming ones:• Saratoga Day at the Races, Saturday, July 28• Alumni Weekend, Oct. 5-7Niagara University’s graduation weekend is May 12-13. Commencementceremonies will be held on campus this year.Thank you for your support of the Niagara University AlumniAssociation. We continue to grow and look forward to your feedbackand involvement.Sincerely,Martin F. Byrne Sr., ’78President, Niagara University Alumni Association*Event calendar is subject to change. The listing includes only the confirmed eventsas of this printing. Check the Eagle’s Nest for the full listing and details.

NEWS FROm THE NESTWho Was ThereBlessing of the Couples— Alumni Chapel —Feb. 12, 2012 —Joel, ’88, and marykern Daum, ’88.Florida Alumni Event — TheVillages — Feb. 11, 2012 —Lena and Sam Cappione, ’43,with Joe Donlon, ’61.President’s Reception, Tri-state area— 3 West Club, New York City —Sept. 22, 2012 — Bob Dwyer, ’65,and michelle Vandeloo, ’01.21Chicago Cubs baseball game — WrigleyField — Sept. 18, 2012 — mike, ’76, andSue kowalczyk Hogan, ’76, with ScottEllis, ’02.President’s Reception, Buffalo Club— Sept. 15, 2012 — Rocco, ’77, andDebbie Rindo Surace, ’79.mAAC BasketballTournament —Springfield,mass. — march 2, 2012 —George, ’68, and EllenBrosnan Durstin, ’68.NU vs. Siena basketballgame and alumni reception— Albany, N.Y. —Jan. 8, 2012 — Joe, ’82, andkathy Lavin Hogan, ’85.Geva Theater — Rochester, N.Y.— Dec. 7, 2011 — kathy andRussell Green, ’68, withBarbara Green, ’72.

ALUmNI STORIESThe notion that nurse practitioners were notequal partners to primary care physicians wassomewhat of a surprise for Sandra, who spentmore than 16 years as a nurse corps officer inthe United States Air Force, caring for patientsfrom birth to geriatrics in inpatient andoutpatient settings.“In the military, everyone is looked at as partof professional staff,” she says. “It wasn’t byyour discipline as much as it was by your rankand skills. The military’s one of the bestorganizations for using a very team-basedapproach to taking care of patients. Everyonehas specific duties and responsibilities, but it’sall about how you do that as a team because ifthe next person can’t do it, you need to be ableto step into your highest level of education andtraining and provide that.”After Sandra earned certification as a nursepractitioner, she enjoyed an even morecollaborative relationship with the physiciansand pharmacists she worked alongside. “It gaveme an even greater depth of understanding ofthe medical collaborative piece and thecollaboration that’s needed to facilitate thebest care possible for patients,” she notes.Had she not gone into the military, she mightnot have gained this insight. One of fivechildren born into a “very Italian family livingin a very Italian town,” Sandra was expected toreturn home after graduating from Niagara’sCollege of Nursing. However, her wanderlustinspired her to enlist in the Air Force. Sheswore in on her commencement day, asking tobe stationed in a warm city as far as possiblefrom her home in Rome, N.Y. She wasassigned to Sacramento, Calif.Sandra’s talent and tenacity opened doors thatenabled her to continue developing her skillsas a nurse. She was chosen for the Air Force’scompetitive six-month internship programshortly after enlisting. Later in her career, shewas selected for its Institute of Technology,which enabled her to attend Arizona StateUniversity to earn her master’s degree inmaternal child nursing and certification as apediatric nurse practitioner.In 1999, Sandra, who was now married withthree children and one on the way, decided totake advantage of the Air Force’s earlyretirement option. She moved to New Jerseyand took a couple of years off before acceptinga part-time position with a pediatric officeclose to her home. Here, she became acutelyaware of the high cost of healthcare forfamilies and the difficulties they faced injuggling work and time off for doctor visits,knowledge that encouraged her to find a wayto provide improved access, affordability andquality of care for patients.When the Take Care Health opportunitycame her way, she accepted it with the desireto change the way healthcare is delivered.“Everybody should have access to healthcare,”she says. “We shouldn’t have children who arenot immunized; we should be focused onpromoting health, preventing disease versustreating disease.”Take Care Health clinics are the realization ofthese goals. Today, in clinics at select Walgreensstores across the country, nurse practitionerssee patients on a walk-in basis, seven days aweek, providing a variety of healthcare servicesincluding treatment for acute illnesses, minorinjuries, vaccinations, and high blood pressurescreening and diagnosis. The clinics acceptmost insurance plans, but they are also anattractive option for the uninsured and thosewithout a primary care provider, and haveearned top scores in Gallup polls measuringcustomer engagement.“It gives me the chills, knowing that you reallycan make a significant difference in people’slives and hopefully save them from any kindof suffering and pain if you can get them theright care at the right time,” Sandra says.Throughout her career, Sandra has remainedtrue to the Catholic values she was raised withand strengthened during her time at Niagara.“Once you’re out of college,” she notes, “whatyou do with your life reflects on your corevalues. Niagara built on the foundation that Ihad growing up, which is the core of who youare in your day-to-day interactions and howyou look at the world and what difference youwant to make in the world. By being someonewho has strong core values and is willing tostand by them in order to do the best thingpossible by patients or by the colleagues that Ilead, I’ve been able to make a positive impact.”Read more alumni stories at www.niagara.edu/featured-alumni/23

ALUmNI STORIESmichael, ’76, and Suzanne Hogan, ’76:Educating the mind, Heart and SoulWhen their eldest daughter, Julia,was ready for kindergarten, Mike,’76, and Suzanne (Kowalczyk)Hogan, ’76, wanted to enroll her in a Catholicschool because of the strong foundation it wouldprovide and their desire that the values she waslearning at home would be reinforced at school.However, there were few Catholic schools intheir neighborhood in North Atlanta. So they,along with 17 other local families, establishedPinecrest Academy, which has been named oneof the top 50 Catholic high schools in theUnited States by the Acton Institute.“rough providence, I met another mom atchurch who had gathered a group of likemindedfamilies together, intent on starting aprivate Catholic school,” Suzanne explains.“Some moms were teachers, others officesupport, some fundraisers, but everyone wasinvolved, hands on, in some way or another.”Suzanne says that the first year was exciting andfun, despite the fact launching the schoolpresented several challenges. ey had to seekand secure the blessing of the bishop of Atlanta,locate a school building, obtain financing, andhire and retain top-notch teachers. But thefounding members were a strong, committedgroup and remained focused on their vision. “Towork together on a large and important projectsuch as a school is very motivating,” Suzannesays. “What really struck me about this group ofparents was how they worked together in charityto build something lasting for their kids.”With an initial enrollment of 29 students, theschool began in rented facilities in a formerelementary school. Its high standards ofacademic excellence and spirituality led toBy Lisa McMahoncontinued growth, and by its fifth anniversary,the school occupied a six-building, 15-classroomfacility and had received accreditation from theSouthern Association of Colleges and Schoolsin its very first year of eligibility. Today, theschool has an enrollment of 1,200 students inpre-kindergarten through 12th grade, and isconsidered one of the premier schools in theAtlanta area.Mike and Suzanne both had a strongfoundation in the Catholic faith when theyattended Niagara, but acknowledge that theschool deepened that faith and their trust inGod. “Niagara built the platform for us tolaunch our adult lives,” Mike says. “In all of ourmoves (Mike’s job as an executive in thelogistics industry took the family to Cleveland,Chicago, California, and Atlanta), our lifecentered around our parishes and beinginvolved. We were blessed while living inAtlanta to be a part of the group that startedPinecrest Academy, and we continued themission after moving to Chicago to help similarstart-up Catholic schools.”“Our Catholic values were solidified for us atNiagara, and we were able to pass them on toour children,” Suzanne adds. “e formation wegive our children is priceless, because it is ourlegacy to them and future generations. I amhumbled by the fact that we were privileged tobe there at the start of the school. e blessingsour family has received from this encounter havebeen too numerous to mention.”Read more alumni stories at www.niagara.edu/featured-alumni/25

CATCHING UP261958William G. Sites was elected to the Avon Grove (Pa.)School District’s board of directors in November for afour-year term. William served 21 years in the Armybefore retiring as a lieutenant colonel, and was TempleUniversity’s director of internal audit for 14 years. Henotes that it was at Niagara that the seed of service tothe community was first planted.1965Pauline (Bumbalo) Fugazzotto received her master’sdegree in theological studies on May 7, 2011, fromSpring Hill College, the Jesuit College of the South,in Mobile, Ala. She began these studies at the age of62 with a desire to deepen her knowledge of theCatholic tradition. Pauline is putting her degree topractical use, in conjunction with her BSN fromNiagara, in the pastoral care ministry at St. FrancisXavier Church in Birmingham.Francis J. Waller, Ph.D., recently published WritingChemistry Patents and Intellectual Property: A PracticalGuide, which gives advice to chemists in four areas —patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets — toenable them to write their own patent applicationdrafts in conjunction with a patent attorney. Francisspent more than 30 years as a researcher and groupleader in industry, retiring as senior research associateat Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., in Allentown, Pa.1970omas D’ Angelo was appointed vice president of theSyracuse chapter of SCORE, “Counselors to America’sSmall Business,” for the organization’s 2011-2012 fiscalyear. Tom, who served as vice president of customeroperations at Excellus BlueCross BlueShield beforeretiring, brings nearly 40 years of managementexperience in marketing and corporate communicationsto SCORE, a nonprofit organization that assistsentrepreneurs start and grow their businesses.Joseph P. Kirlin III has been elected president of eCivil Affairs Association, a not-for-profit militaryprofessional association whose purpose is to advocate fora strong and ready military that has a capable andadequate civil affairs force. e association also serves asa forum for professionals to present and exchange ideason civil affairs. It represents more than 8,000 active andreserve Army, Navy, and Marine professionals.1971Joseph Cozzo, president and CEO of the BuffaloHearing and Speech Center, joined the board of directorsfor Read to Succeed Buffalo, a collaborative literacyorganization dedicated to improving early childhoodliteracy for children from birth through age 8.1972 REUNiONHelen (Eshenour) Stepowany has been named thenew director of the Kennedy-Willis Center, PathfinderVillage’s outreach and education facility for thoseneeding information about Down syndrome and otherdevelopmental disabilities. Helen was most recently theexecutive vice president of program services for UpstateCerebral Palsy in Utica, and supervised all programoperations for four multisite major program divisions.1973Mark A. Totaro, Ph.D., has been recognized byCambridge Who's Who for showing dedication,leadership and excellence in religious administration.Mark is executive director and chief executive officerof Catholic Charities of the Roman Catholic Dioceseof Harrisburg.1975Mary Roickle was named head coach of ManchesterCommunity College women’s basketball team inAugust, marking a return to coaching after a 25-yearcareer in the pharmaceutical industry. A member of theNiagara University Athletics Hall of Fame, Mary ledthe Purple Eagles to an 84-19 record and appearancein the NCAA Division II Final over four seasons(1976-80) as head coach and women’s athletic director,before moving on to build a nationally ranked Division Iprogram at the University of Detroit. She is a registerednurse in New York and Massachusetts and a member ofthe American Society of Training and Development andHealthcare Businesswomen’s Association.1976omas P. Mimnaugh is a senior vice president —investments, and senior partner with the Messina-Burriss-Mimnaugh Wealth Management Group ofWells Fargo Advisors in Red Bank, N.J. He started hiscareer at a Wells Fargo Advisors predecessor firm in1982 and has been a member of the group since 2000.e group specializes in investments, credit, riskmanagement and estate planning for an exclusivegroup of individuals in the Monmouth County, N.J.,area. omas holds the designation of certified financial136 7 824 59 101. Eric Schottke, ’08 2. Amanda Moses, ’09 3.William Sites, ’58, with his wife, Peg 4. Pauline Fugazzotto, ’65 5. Francis Waller, Ph.D., ’65 6.Theresa Ditlow, ’02, and Nicholas Griffiths7. Sarah Brostko, ’03, and John Lechanski, ’04 8. Courtney Rowan, ’07, and Kyle Gramza, ’08 9. Kieara Rachael Gutchell 10. Caroline Marie and Thomas Peter Taberski

60SECONDSWITH:Shannon (Bloomquist) Patch, ’07planner professional and senior PIM portfolio manager.He resides in Fair Haven, N.J., with his wife, Lisa, andtheir three children, Kelly, Matthew and Teddy.Joseph Temperato retired after 30 years of servicefrom the New York State Office of Children andFamily Services. Joe was a senior counselor at theIndustry Residential Center.1977 REUNiONFred Heuer was appointed chairman of the board ofdirectors for the Center of Renewal Retreat andConference Center at Stella Niagara. He is assistant vicepresident for marketing at Niagara University.Ernest K. Smith was elected treasurer of the NiagaraFalls Bridge Commission at its annual meeting inFebruary. First appointed to the commission inNovember 2009, Ernest, a resident of Niagara Falls,Ontario, is retired from Canada Immigration aftermore than 31 years of service with experience in suchareas as enforcement, operations and intelligence. Sinceretiring, Ernest has been contracted by the InternationalRegion of Citizenship & Immigration Canada to workas a visa officer in England, Hong Kong, Trinidad, SaudiArabia and the United States.1978Michael S. Gawel accepted the position of vicepresident and tax principal for White Accounting andTax Specialists. He is in charge of estate and not-forprofittax returns.Paul Leonard received the Emergency FirstResponder of the Year Award from the MontgomeryCounty Chamber of Commerce at the organization’sannual awards banquet, held in November. Paul hasbeen involved in city and emergency management formore than 30 years. Currently the township manager,he also acts as the governor’s appointed emergencymanagement coordinator and has responded tonumerous incidents acting as incident commander ofthree “disasters,” as designated by national criteria. Inaddition, Paul has trained and responded as an activefirefighter, having served with four fire departments,including some eight years as a fire officer at thecompany operations level.1980Joseph P. Quinlan was named one of Irish America’s 2011Wall Street 50 honorees in September. Joe has served aschief market strategist and managing director at Bank ofAmerica, U.S. Trust since 2003 and is responsible for thefirm’s global thematic research. He also is a lecturer onglobal finance at Fordham and is on the faculty at NewYork University. In 1998, Joe was nominated as anEisenhower Fellow and is presently a senior fellow atthe German Marshal Fund in Brussels and a fellow atthe Center for Transatlantic Relations. He is the authorof several books, including e Last EconomicSuperpower, which was voted as one of the best businessbooks on globalization in 2011.David L. Sengstock has been named the newexecutive director of Auxiliary Campus Enterprisesand Services, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation thatsupports the mission of Alfred State College. Hehas been with the corporation for 32 years.1982 REUNiONeresa DeConinck-Gration is the externalrelations director, U.S. market, for the Geneva,Switzerland-based MCI Group, the world’s largestassociation management, event management andconsulting company. eresa assists the U.S. not-forprofitindustry in its strategies to grow globally.Dr. Brendan Dowd was installed as the presidentof the Eighth District Dental Society. Dr. Dowd isa clinical instructor at the SUNY at Buffalo Schoolof Dental Medicine’s Department of RestorativeDentistry and has a private office in Niagara Falls.1983Sandra (Festa) Ryan was inducted as the first nursepractitioner into the Fellowship of e College ofPhysicians of Philadelphia, the oldest professionalmedical organization in the country, at a formalceremony on Nov. 18. A highly decorated U.S. AirForce officer, Sandra has more than 25 years ofhealthcare and leadership experience and is currentlythe chief nurse practitioner officer and clinicaladvocate for Walgreens Take Care Health Systems.Read more about Sandra on page 22.1984Dominick M. Oliver, Ph.D., was named 2011Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Member in theWorkforce Development area at Niagara CountyCommunity College. He also received a Certificate ofSpecial Congressional Recognition in January for hisdedication and contributions to the college. He hasbeen with NCCC since 2000 and has taught businesseducation, computer information systems, and mathdivisions. Dom was one of the original instruction teammembers in the Learning Pathways program (which isnow merged in Workforce Development) where heteaches GED prep, health careers prep, precollegiatemath, pathways: workplace essentials, and a variety ofcomputer courses.Hometown: Kenmore, N.Y.Degree: B.S. in communicationsCurrent job: Director of Special Projects for New York StateSenator Timothy M. KennedyMy best memory at Niagara is: sitting next to my nowhusband,Christopher Patch, in photography class senioryear. We didn’t talk to each other in the beginning of thesemester, but one day, I leaned down to plug a USB driveinto the computer and, at the same time, he pulled outthe keyboard tray and hit me in the head. That's one wayto start a conversation!My favorite hangout was: St. A’s.The most important life lesson I learned at NU was: howlucky I am that my parents saved and sacrificed so I couldget a great education. It really makes all the differencein a person’s life. If I hadn’t gone to Niagara, I would nothave a job I love, amazing lifelong friends, my wonderfulhusband, and everything else that makes life worth living!I am inspired by: nature. I love being outside.The three words that describe me are: driven,passionate, and blessed.My favorite part of my job is: helping people. I stronglybelieve that most people go into politics and governmentbecause they recognize the need for change in theircommunity and they want to make a difference.When I’m not working you’ll find me: working on ournew house.I still want to learn how to: do so many things! Right nowI am focused on learning “house stuff,” especially how tocut in on a wall without getting paint all over the ceiling.How do people do that?Five random facts about me:1. I love yoga and running; I am much more focused andproductive when I make time for these activities.2. I also love books, red wine and dark chocolate!3. It might sound crazy, but elephants have alwaysbrought me luck and whenever I see a hawk, I knowit’s a sign that whatever I am worried about is goingto work out.4. One of my worst habits is asking two questions atonce: “How are you? What do you want for dinner?”It’s annoying, I know.5. I use ChapStick about 30 times a day.We’d like to get to know you better! In each issue of theEagle, we’ll spend a minute (or so) with an alum from arandom area of the country and ask a few questions tofind out more about him or her. Will you be next?27

CATCHING UPIn 1990, Terry Sharkey, ’77, launched the inaugural HackerCup golf tournament, a four-day outing that is typicallyheld in September in locations including Atlantic City, N.J.;Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Ocean City, Md.; and Pinehurst, N.C.Niagara alums from classes spanning the ’70s and early’80s attend the event each year, including: Jim Danahy,’74; Cliff Sharkey, ’74 (who has taken over organizationalduties from his brother); Tom Mimnaugh, ’76; Jim Bowe,’74; Steve Pesarchick, ’81; Terry Sharkey, ’77; Tom Barbieri,’75; Bob Wylie, ’74; Dick Mavissakalian, ’74; Jim Sharkey,’81; Bill Janowski, ’74; Peter Ferrigno, ’77; Jim Hillary, ’74;and Tom Hogan, ’74 (not pictured).281985eresa (Toennies) Baginski has earned her master’sdegree at the University at Buffalo and U.S. ArmyWar College.Lucy Muto joined M&T Bank as vice president/business development officer. She is responsible fordeveloping relationships with existing and newcommercial business owners and working with theiremployees and retail clients to maximize the currentand future success of their overall financial needs. Shepreviously served as senior branch manager withHSBC bank.1986David P. Kraus has been promoted to director of contactcenters at KeyBank. He is responsible for supportingsales and service delivery for KeyBank’s retail, business,commercial, high net worth and treasury managementsegments, as well as internal support for policy andprocedures and service issue resolution.John M. Rovison was promoted to global technologydirector for FMC Corp.’s Peroxygens Division inSeptember 2011. e Peroxygens Division is aworldwide producer of hydrogen peroxide, persulfates,and peracetic acid products with production facilitiesin the United States, Canada, Spain, the Netherlandsand ailand and supply from Mexico. John is basedin the company’s Tonawanda, N.Y., facility.Monica Saltarelli was honored with the DistinguishedAlumni Award from St. Francis of Assisi School,Tonawanda, N.Y. She is a campus minister and adjunctprofessor of religious studies at Niagara University, andvice president of St. Vincent de Paul Society NiagaraDistrict. She was one of the key leaders in developing theSt. Vincent de Paul Society rift Store in Niagara Falls.1987 REUNiONEd Bradley completed his second Niagara FallsInternational Marathon in the wheelchair division onOct. 23, 2011. e marathon started at the AlbrightKnox Art Gallery in Buffalo and finished in NiagaraFalls, Ont. He finished 2 minutes faster than last yearat 4:34.Joseph DioGuardi was named superintendent in theAddison Central School District. He previously servedas the district’s business administrator, director ofcurriculum and instruction, and high school principalduring his seven years in Addison.Wende Lewis Dixon recently accepted the position ofadministrator/clinical director of Mohawk ValleyEndoscopy Center, a new ambulatory surgery centerin Utica, N.Y.Edward Kent wrote and illustrated Stop Bullying Me!I’m a Zombie. So What?, the fifth in his Zombie Edseries of children’s books. He is also a member of theSociety of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.1988Diane Walsh Giaquinto was appointed auditsupervisor in the Buffalo office of Freed Maxick andBattaglia CPAs. Most recently, Diane, a CPA, wascontroller at Lustig & Brown Attorneys at Law.Stephanie Heil, merchandising manager for HeinekenUSA, Inc., has been recognized by Cambridge Who’sWho for showing dedication, leadership and excellencein business development. At Heineken, she isresponsible for developing point of sale materials andensuring that Heineken’s guidelines for brand and logousage are understood and followed by all suppliers.1990Melissa (Kerwin) O’Neil recently accepted a positionwith MedPro RX, Inc., a neurology practice inAlexandria, Va., as the infusion suite coordinator.1991Doug Bailey was appointed controller at J. FitzgeraldGroup, a marketing technology company based inLockport. Doug most recently was controller at MountSt. Mary’s Hospital and Health Center in Lewiston.Lt. Col. Rich Rouleau has recently been assigned asan Army advisor to the Saudi Arabian National Guard.1992 REUNiONDarren Graff was appointed a manager in e BonadioGroup’s business appraisal subsidiary ValuQuest. Hehas more than 15 years of appraisal experience in theBuffalo and Rochester markets.Sean H. McCabe was reelected to a three-year termon the Greece Central Board of Education.

CATCHING UP1995Roberta Smeal was recently promoted to the positionof consulting manager with Emeritus Corp., a nationalprovider of senior living services, with 478 communitiesin 44 states.Susan Swiatkowski accepted the position of directorof marketing for e Conference and Event CenterNiagara Falls/Old Falls Street.1996Sara Bergen DelVecchio received a master’s degree inpsychology with a specialization in business psychologyfrom the University of the Rockies in ColoradoSprings, Colo., in September 2011.1998Kelly Cruttenden was inducted into the VictorCentral School District’s Blue Devil Athletics Hall ofFame in October. She was a three-sport star at Victor,playing volleyball, basketball and softball, and servingas team captain in all three sports. A former NiagaraUniversity Female Athlete of the Year, Kelly wasinducted into the NU Athletics Hall of Fame in twosports: volleyball and softball. She is assistant athleticdirector for compliance at the University at Buffalo.Kathy A. Kurtz was recently named a nursepractitioner by Gastroenterology Associates. She isboard-certified as a family nurse practitioner throughthe American Nurses Credentialing Center and has 12years’ experience in family practice. She will work inthe Williamsville, N.Y., office.Aimee Qualiana joined M&T Bank as a relationshipbanker at the Niagara Falls, N.Y., branch. She previouslyserved as premier relationship manager at HSBC.Galeb Rizek was named vice chairman of the NiagaraTourism and Convention Corp., the official tourismpromotion agency for Niagara Falls and NiagaraCounty. He is the owner of the Econolodge inNiagara Falls.1999omas Devereaux has been promoted to the positionof senior manager in the accounting and auditingdepartment at Tronconi Segarra & Associates LLP, acertified public accounting and business consultingfirm with offices in Williamsville, Niagara Falls andClarence, N.Y. A CPA, omas has practiced in publicaccounting for more than eight years. He joined thefirm in 2009.2000Dr. Frank Trovato joined the Stanford Who’s Whonetwork of professionals for his exceptional work inthe education industry. A professor in the School ofSocial and Community Services at Humber CollegeInstitute of Technology and Advanced Learning, andin the Justice Studies Department at the University ofGuelph-Humber, Frank served with the TorontoPolice Service for 30 years, and is the recipient ofnumerous awards, including the Community ServiceCollege Presidents Award. He is a life member of theOntario Association of Chiefs of Police.2001Jennifer Hibit served as campaign manager for MarkPoloncarz in his bid for Erie County executive. Herefforts led to a victory for Mark.2002 REUNiONMatthew C. Curcione earned a juris doctorate degreefrom Regent University Law School, Virginia Beach,in May 2011.Laura (Sagar) Stevens has been promoted to staffassociate in the Office of Student Accounts at theUniversity at Buffalo.2003Frank Strangio was recently elected chairman of theNiagara Tourism and Convention Corp., the officialtourism promotion agency for Niagara Falls and NiagaraCounty. He is the owner of the Quality Inn NiagaraFalls/Antonio’s Banquet & Conference Center.2004omas B. Stack was named principal of NewfaneHigh School, effective Jan. 1. He had previously servedas assistant principal for the high school.2005Edwin Negron was among the honorees at the secondannual Hispanic Leadership Awards in Dutch Kills/Astoria in October 2011. Edwin has been an officer ofthe NYPD’s 114th Precinct’s Community Affairs Unitsince 2008.2006Charles D. Brooks was promoted to commercial loanofficer at Lake Shore Savings Bank, Orchard Park, N.Y.He also obtained commercial lender certification throughthe Independent Community Bankers Association.2007 REUNiONSam Bruno was promoted to senior accountant atChiampou Travis Besaw & Kershner, an Amherstaccounting firm. He joined the firm in 2008.Maria A. Dojka has been promoted to the position ofsenior accountant in the Accounting and AuditingDepartment at Tronconi Segarra & Associates LLP, acertified public accounting and business consultingfirm with offices in Williamsville, Niagara Falls andClarence, N.Y. She has been with the firm since 2008.Sara Upfold-Harrell earned a master’s degree in publichealth from Benedictine University, Lisle, Ill. She is aradiological specialist for the Oswego County EmergencyManagement Office.2008Tim Alberts was re-signed by the Amarillo SoxBaseball Club. Tim was a standout outfielder for NU,where he achieved a career .360 batting average producingMetro Athletic Conference All-Star Selections in 2006and 2007. He began his professional career inWashington in the Frontier League in 2009, beforemoving on to Joliet in the Northern League. He brieflyreturned to the Frontier League in 2010 with WindyCity, before joining Sioux City in the AmericanAssociation, where he hit .338 in just 45 games. Lastyear with the Sox, Tim appeared in 94 games posting acareer second-best .332 batting average in 382 at-bats with72 runs batted in to go along with his eight home runs.Stephanie Q. Cattarin was appointed executivedirector of the Center for Professional Developmentat Canisius College’s Richard J. Wehle School ofBusiness. Previously, she was assistant director ofgraduate admissions at the college.Cali (Carol Lea) Gilbert published her second book,It's Simply...GOLDEN: 75 Years of Inspiration. isbook contains original photography and inspirationalphrases celebrating the 75th birthday of San Francisco’sGolden Gate Bridge. Cali is an award-winningphotographer whose work has been exhibited ingalleries throughout California and New York City. In2011, Cali published her first book, It’s Simply...Sausalito: An Inspirational Journey. Both books can befound on Amazon and other online retailers.Molly Gurman is a program specialist for the Townof Wheatfield’s Youth Center. Molly is also serving asa literacy program assistant at a Buffalo charter schoolthrough AmeriCorps.Janelle M. Kita completed her master’s degree inliteracy education at St. John Fisher College inRochester, N.Y. She also accepted a teaching positionat St. Mary’s Catholic School in Canandaigua.29

CATCHING UP30Eric Schottke has successfully completed the requirementsto practice as a certified public accountant andhas been promoted to senior accountant at Lumsden& McCormick, LLP. Eric joined the organization’sauditing and accounting team in 2011, bringing withhim two years of public accounting experience servingcommercial businesses and exempt organizations. Heis a member of the American Institute of CertifiedPublic Accountants and the New York State Societyof Certified Public Accountants.2009Kristine Doll was promoted to senior accountant atChiampou Travis Besaw & Kershner, an Amherstaccounting firm. She joined the firm in 2009.Amanda N. Moses has successfully completed therequirements to practice as a certified public accountantand has been promoted to senior accountant atLumsden & McCormick, LLP. Amanda joined theorganization’s tax department in 2009 and is responsiblefor compliance and tax planning services to individualsand businesses. She is a member of the AmericanInstitute of Certified Public Accountants and the NewYork State Society of Certified Public Accountants.William Rafferty was promoted to advanced staffaccountant in the Audit and Accounting Departmentat Firley, Moran, Freer & Eassa, P.C., certified publicaccounts. He joined the firm in October 2010.Michelle Wienke completed her master’s degree inmental health counseling at Medaille College. She is afamily support counselor at Upstate New YorkTransplant Services.2010Derek Gerega was named audit staff accountant in theBuffalo office of Freed Maxick and Battaglia CPAs.Mark W. Hubbard was named staff accountant atSzymkowiak and Associates CPAs, an Amherstaccounting firm.Steven Rizzo was named staff accountant atChiampou Travis Besaw & Kershner, an Amherstaccounting firm.Julie Syruws was named staff accountant at ChiampouTravis Besaw & Kershner.Derek J. Vallese was named staff accountant atSzymkowiak and Associates CPAs, an Amherstaccounting firm.2011Caitlin Long has been named the new head coach ofthe Genesee Community College women’s soccerprogram. She previously served as assistant coach forthe Lady Cougars under Charlie Woods during the fall2011 season. At Niagara, she was a member of theMAAC Conference Rookie Team in 2007 and a teamcaptain during the 2010-11 season. She was also amember of the Empire State gold-medal winningteams in 2005, 2006 and 2010. In addition to servingas assistant coach at Genesee, Caitlin also coached inthe Ken-Ton Soccer Association for the girls travelsoccer and micro soccer programs.Johnathan Miles joined the Buffalo tax department atFreed Maxick CPAs, PC, as a staff accountant.Jacqueline C. Shoen was appointed a staff accountantat Lougen, Valenti, Bookbinder and Weintraub, anAmherst accounting firm.mARRIAGESKatrina Gandy, ’96, married Kevin Motley onAug. 17, 2011.Janelle L. Cardamone, ’00, married Aaron Mierzwa,’02, on July 23, 2011.eresa Ditlow, ’02, married Nicholas Griffiths onDec. 11, 2010.Sarah Brostko, ’03, married John Lechanski, ’04, onMarch 25, 2011. Marissa Bailey, ’03, JeannieMacDonald, ’04, John Abella, ’04, and Casey Davis,’04, attended the wedding.Courtney Rowan, ’07, married Kyle Gramza, ’08, onAug. 6, 2011.Brandon J. Wright, ’08, married Kathleen L. Stegle, ’09,on July 22, 2011.BIRTHS aND ADOPTIONSStephanie Ann Avery, ’70, welcomed two adoptedchildren: Eric Joseph, on Nov. 11, 2011; and MadisonRose, on Dec. 23, 2011.Dr. Kathy Cosentino Mayo, ’93, and her husband,Dr. George Mayo, welcomed a daughter, MichaelaDominique, on Sept. 6, 2011.Barbara J. Panza, ’96, ’98, and her husband, Jeffrey T.Leskiw, welcomed identical twin sons Peter Francis, onAug. 19, 2011, and omas Anselm, on Aug. 20, 2011.ey joined brother Henry. We are sad to note thatPeter died in utero shortly before omas was born.Our condolences to Barbara, Jeffrey, and their family.Cristin Padgett Ryan, ’96, and her husband, Colin,welcomed a daughter, Caitlin Cristin, on May 3, 2011.Michael Gutchell, ’98, and his wife, Susan, welcomeda daughter, Kieara Rachael, on Nov. 23, 2011.Kelly (Filippi) DeStefano, ’99, and her husband, Andy,welcomed a daughter, Audra Rose, on May 12, 2011.Eric Frass, ’99, and his wife, Jamie, welcomed a son,Owen Michael, on April 21, 2011.Kelli (Riley) Harris, ’00, and her husband, Kristopher,welcomed a daughter, Emily Margaret, on May 12, 2011.Claire (Zimmerman) Freeling, ’01, and herhusband, Alan, welcomed a daughter, Natalie Mary,on Oct. 18, 2011.Owen T., ’01, and Megan (Opera) Hondrf, ’01,welcomed a daughter, Lauren Kate, on Aug. 31, 2011.Rebecca (Pennamacoor) Meltzer, ’01, and her husband,Chris, welcomed a son, Evan, on Oct. 25, 2011.Mike Taberski, ’01, and his wife, Melissa, welcomedtwins Caroline Marie and omas Peter on Oct. 3, 2011.Aimi (Maggiolino) Grysko, ’02, and her husband,Mark, welcomed a daughter, Sophia Rose Louise, onApril 4, 2011.Courtney LeAnne (Shonk) Johnson, ’03, andher husband, Mike, welcomed a son, Bradley, onSept. 14, 2011.Danielle (Carter) Kirchue, ’05, MS’06, and herhusband, Jason, welcomed triplets Ava Diane, GiulianaGrace, and Leah Madelyn, on Dec. 2, 2011.Nichole (Tubiolo) Siwicki, ’05, and her husband, John,welcomed a daughter, Sadie Grace, on Oct. 6, 2011.Kari Anne (Dettbarn) Wright, ’06, and her husband,Aaron, welcomed a son, Liam Daniel, on May 15, 2011.IN mEmORIAmTo have a Mass celebrated at Alumni Chapel, call NU’sCampus Ministry Office at 716.286.8400.For expanded obituaries and an opportunity to leaveyour condolences, please visit the Eagle online athttp://eagleonline.niagara.edu.* Expanded obituary available.Ralph H. Wilcove, ’40, passed away on April 9, 2011.John H. Werbeck, ’43, passed away on Feb. 13, 2012.

CATCHING UPFond memoriesEdward J. Lower, ’57, passed away on Dec. 15, 2011.James F. Walsh, ’58, passed away on Nov. 22, 2011.Our condolences to his wife, Jane (Sippel) Walsh, ’57.William J. Casey, ’59, passed away on Sept. 25, 2011.Our condolences to his daughter, Catherine Cooper, ’81.Robert H. Kase, ’59, passed away on Aug. 9, 2011.Henry “Hank” T. Santulli, ’63, MA’64,* passed awayon March 11, 2011. Our condolences to his wife,Patricia (Casale) Santulli, ’63.Ronald George Anderson, ’65, passed away onJan. 16, 2012.James K. Cavanagh, ’68, passed away on Sept. 12, 2011.Barbara A. (Scrivano) Bobby, ’70, passed away onSept. 9, 2011.Our condolences to Daniel Hauck, ’72, on the deathof his mother, Mary Hauck, Nov. 21, 2011.31The 1985 spring ball had a bit of a nautical theme. Here, several friends gathered for a photo in frontof the “Maid of the Mist.” in the front are Dan Trotter, ’85; and Frank Fiannaca, ’85. Behind them are(l-r) Joe Meaney, ’85; Pat Stack, ’86; Jim Merrill, ’85; Ed Coogan, ’85; Mike Swan, ’85; Jim LaMar, ’85;and Brian Connelly, ’85. in the back are Ray Rossi, ’85; and Mark Perry, ’85.Our condolences to omas Barbieri, ’75, and Anne(Barbiere) Cohen, ’84, on the death of their father,Louis J. Barbieri, Dec. 1, 2011.Our condolences to Marilyn Healy-McDermott,’75, on the death of her husband, Tom McDermott,Nov. 28, 2011.Edward R. Wright, ’47, passed away on Sept. 29, 2011.William F. Lynch, ’48, a former assistant professor ofeconomics and labor relations at NU, passed away onApril 11, 2011. Our condolences to his daughter,Kathryn Fabian, ’76; his son, John Lynch, ’79; and hisgranddaughter, Lauren Fabian, ’08.Our condolences to Joe Lawton Jr., ’50, on the deathof his wife, Mary Lawton, Oct. 26, 2011.Robert A. Rosa, ’50, passed away on Nov. 25, 2011.Burton Rosenberg, ’50,* passed away on July 15, 2011.Our condolences to his son, Maurice Rosenberg, ’96.Eugene Sentiff, ’51, passed away on Dec. 4, 2011.omas J. Bennett, ’52, passed away on June 28, 2011.Robert R. Rafferty, ’52, passed away on Jan. 21, 2012.Ernest E. Read, ’52, passed away on Dec. 31, 2011.Monsignor William A. Schwinger, ’52, passed awayon Jan. 15, 2012.Charles J. Wilson, ’52, passed away on Dec. 25, 2011.Peter Edward Gauharou, ’53, passed away onOct. 25, 2011.Monsignor Robert A. Mack, ’53, passed away onDec. 1, 2011.James Gaebelein, ’54, passed away on Dec. 25, 2011.Joseph P. Delaney, ’55, passed away on July 20, 2010.Our condolences to his wife, Barbara (Hartmann)Delaney, ’55.Reverend Thomas F. Langan, ’56, passed away onJan. 3, 2012.Matthew C. Lanighan, Ph.D., ’56, passed awayon Aug. 19, 2011. Our condolences to his wife,Patricia (Smith) Lanighan, ’59.Donald S. McHarris, ’56, passed away on Jan. 17, 2012.omas F. Conte Jr., ’57, passed away on Jan. 12, 2012.Our condolences to his wife, Joan (Kase) Conte, ’55,and his son, Kenneth Conte, ’80.James DeBiase Jr., ’57, passed away on Oct. 17, 2011. Ourcondolences to his wife, Sonja (Chylak) DeBiase, ’81.Robert C. Deshler, ’57, passed away on Sept. 13, 2011.John (Ned) Lenhart, ’57, passed away on Jan. 8, 2012. Ourcondolences to his wife, Rita (Caldwell) Lenhart, ’54.Judith (Amorelli) Reeves, ’76, passed away onSept. 11, 2011.Our condolences to Fred Heuer, ’77, on the death ofhis father-in-law; and to Ann (Rooney) Heuer, ’78, onthe death of her father, Francis Rooney, Nov. 13, 2011.Nina (Brady) McGuire, RN, BSN, ’81, passed awayon Oct. 14, 2011. Our condolences to her husband,Brian McGuire, ’80.Linda G. Laub, ’87, passed away on Nov. 14, 2010.Our condolences to her husband, Robert Laub, ’71.Our condolences to Gregory Den Haese, ’90, JasonDenHaese, ’91, and Ryan DenHaese, ’94, on the deathof their father; and to Maureen (Klotz) Den Haese, ’92,on the death of her father-in-law; A. George DenHaese,Nov. 6, 2011.Marguerite D. “Marnie” Eydt, MS’90, passed awayon Dec. 18, 2011.Renee M. ( Jagiello) Luzi, ’99, passed away onDec. 4, 2011.Lindsey Cooper-Lydic, ’10, passed away onMarch 31, 2011.

Behind Daniel Guariglia, director ofFacility Services and Niagara Universityemergency coordinator, is the digitallayout of campus that was created withfunding from a $394,000 Departmentof Education Emergency Managementfor Higher Education grant.

THE LAST WORDNatural disasters, acts of violence, firesand other emergencies affecting collegecampuses have raised questions aboutthe safety of our students. At Niagara University,we have been proactive in preparing for emergencysituations. In 1999, a cross section of administrators,management and staff developed an initialEmergency Response Plan with goals of reducingrisk, providing timely and effective response,minimizing property damage and maintainingbusiness continuity. Over the years, Niagara hasmade a significant investment to secure theresources necessary to help implement this plan.e plan, which is reviewed at least annually, is aliving document that has been updated andenhanced many times to keep it current andaccurate. With assistance from the New YorkState Office of Emergency Management,Department of Homeland Security and FEMAguidance, our latest revision in June 2011 has madeour plan National Incident Management System(NIMS) compliant. is will allow the university,first responders, and local and state agencies tospeak and work under the same guidance duringan emergency.ree separate committees have oversight of theuniversity’s Emergency Response Plan. e CrisisPolicy Team is responsible for and has theauthority to establish new policy, amend existingemergency plan procedures, and approve budgetrequests for the relevant material and fiscalresources required to effectively mitigate theemergency while maintaining NIMS compliancy.e Committee on Crisis Management is chargedwith maintaining the readiness of the institutionduring emergencies, assure crises managementactivities are NIMS compliant, and provideconsultation to ensure all divisions and functionalunits have prepared plans that are functional andeffective. is committee meets at least annuallyand/or upon request of the CRT to review theoverall Emergency Response Plan, individual planannexes, and to evaluate training and emergencynotification procedures.The Crisis Response Team is the “boots onthe ground staff,” responsible for managing theuniversity’s response to an incident. Comprisingseven director-level members selected on thebasis of their role in the day-to-day operation ofthe university and how that knowledge, responsibilityand experience could be a benefit in anemergency, the CRT determines and implementsall appropriate measures to respond toemergencies or disasters.e CRT members — Niagara’s executive vicepresident and the directors of facility services,campus safety, contract services & risk management,information technology, recreation & intramuralsports, student health services, and residence life —have received extensive training in a variety of areas.All have completed the appropriate level of NIMStraining in accordance with their assigned role, andeach has participated in at least one tabletop exerciseand one functional exercise. Most of this trainingwas conducted by the New York State EmergencyManagement Office, the Niagara Falls FireDepartment, the American Red Cross, and theDepartment of Homeland Security, and consistedof lectures, exercises, drills and hands-on learning.Because training is a continuous process, severalsessions are scheduled for 2012, including afunctional exercise in the fall.In addition, several CRT members have alsoreceived training by the American Red Cross inshelter operations, search and rescue, and firstaid, and most are members of the CitizenEmergency Response Team (CERT) and havereceived additional training through NiagaraUniversity’s Border Community SERVICE(Special Emergency Response Volunteer Initiativefor Community Empowerment).In compliance with our Emergency Response Plan,a number of initiatives have been implemented oncampus. For example, an Emergency PreparednessReference Guide, which features a flip chartdetailing how to respond to various incidents, wasdeveloped and placed in all classrooms on campus.It can also be downloaded from our website.Two locations have been identified as possibleshelters on campus and provisions for food,communication, first aid, and security have beenaddressed. e university’s current supplies consistof cots, pillows, blankets, personal products, attire,basic food and water to shelter 425 people.Recognizing that a particular incident couldoutpace our resources, we have a mutual aidunderstanding with Canisius College to sharephysical resources, including manpower. In theevent that an incident affects both Niagara andCanisius, we have a memorandum of understandingwith DePaul University to host eachother’s websites and technology needs.We have also implemented a mass notificationnetwork to provide information in the event of acampus emergency. is information will bedelivered via the NU web page, our on-campusemail and voicemail systems, automated text andcell phone messaging, campus-wide digital signage,and the intrusive mass notification loudspeakersystem, which consists of speakers that can beheard outdoors from any area of the campus andis used to alert those in transit on campus or thoseusing the ground and/or fields.Some of the most recent improvements to ourEmergency Response Plan are the result offunding from a Department of EducationEmergency Management for Higher Educationgrant. e $394,000 award also enabled us toinstall additional video cameras to monitorcampus entrances; purchase an Automated RecordManagement System for Campus Safety, whichincludes computers in all patrol cars to accessthe system; and create a digital layout ofcampus that will provide valuable information forfirst responders.Dealing with emergencies is an ongoing, complexundertaking. rough implementation of riskreduction measures and comprehensive training,coupled with the availability of provisions for bothshort and long-term recovery assistance, NiagaraUniversity is well-prepared to save lives andminimize property damage.Daniel GuarigliaDirector of Facility Services andNiagara University Emergency Coordinator33

Office of Institutional AdvancementNiagara University, NY 14109Nonprofit Org.U.S. POSTAGEPAIDNiagara University, N.Y.Permit No. 1CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTEDThe annual Saratoga Day at the Races, hosted by the Albany chapter, has beenbooked for July 28, 2012. Join fellow alumni in the clubhouse in At the RailPavilion, where you will have a trackside view of all the live racing action. Yourticket includes admission, buffet, and conveniently located betting facilities.There will also be an informal alumni gathering on Friday, July 27.As in previous years, there will be a room block at the Courtyard byMarriot, Saratoga Springs.There is always a strong demand for these tickets, so we recommend thatyou register early to secure yours before they sell out. Updatedinformation on this event will be posted to the Eagle’s Nest atwww.niagaraalumni.com as soon as it is available.Help Make Our Future — And Your Own — BrighterCharitable gift annuities are a very flexible way to makecharitable gifts to Niagara University providing a fixed incomefor life for you and/or others you choose. They are easy to createand can be funded with gifts of relatively modest amounts.The charitable gift annuity is a win-win donation option.Become a member of the Niagara University Heritage Societyby including Niagara in your estate planning. To learn more visithttp://niagara.aboutgiving.net/plan-your-gifts-greatest-impactor contact Leslie K. Wise, ’82, director of planned giving,at 716.286.8590.